Oman- Some road stretches still nightmarish for motorists

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) While traffic jams on some stretches of the Darsait-Wadi Kabir road have eased due to the flyover project, some parts are proving nightmarish for commuters.

The entry to Muttrah near the Bait al Falaj area has been closed temporarily, bringing traffic moving to Wadi Kabir and Ruwi to a snail's pace.

''On Sunday, it took me nearly an hour to cover the stretch from Lulu Hypermarket to my office in CBD. While returning home in the evening, I took the road towards the church signal to avoid a jam, but got stuck in heavy traffic there too. It took me another hour to reach the intersection near the hypermarket in Darsait,'' said a commuter.

''The closure of various entry points is causing inconvenience to the commuters. Pedestrians also find it difficult as they have to negotiate their way through construction work and vehicles,'' said M Shafeek, who works in a shop near Stars Cinema.

Commuting even shorter distances has become a task for those living on the Al Washal Street in CBD. Abbas Sheikh works in a bank in CBD and spends nearly an hour on the road to and from office.

''I have to drive till Lulu Darsait flyover to take a U-turn to reach CBD. While returning from work I can only reach the Al Washal Street via Bank Street. Unfortunately, on both these roads, it takes a long time for the traffic to clear.''

Badar al Hosni, also a resident of Al Washal Street said he dreads driving even short distances now. ''The closest supermarket is Al Maya, which earlier was a five minute drive from my house. Now a to and fro trip takes me 30-45 minutes.''

Kunuju Mohammed, from CBD, however feels this inconvenience is temporary.

''Work on the project is on and this trouble is a matter of some more months. Traffic snarls in Wadi Kabir and Qurm Heights have eased since new flyovers opened. The same will happen in CBD, it's only a matter of ti